Permanent magnet brushless electric motors are desirable for efficiency. Brushless motors are typically more efficient and quieter than induction motors because brushless motor designs avoid losses related to the “induction” process. However, the costs associated with the manufacture of brushless motors are usually greater than induction motors. For example, brushless motors can be more expensive than induction motors because of the control circuitry necessary to drive the brushless motors. Therefore, until recently, brushless motors have typically been used in larger, expensive equipment such as washing machines and high-efficiency furnaces and in medical and military applications, where cost is less of a factor.
Increased concerns for efficiency and stricter government regulations are requiring more efficient electric motors. Single-phase brushless motors are known. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,379,984, 4,535,275 and 5,859,519, and S. Bentouati et al., Permanent Magnet Brushless DC Motors For Consumer Products (last visited Dec. 8, 2002), located at URL magnet.ee.umist.ac.uk/reports/P11/p11.html.
Although different brushless motors can vary in configuration, all brushless motors run on direct current and include circuitry to sequentially switch the direct current into one or more stator coils. In addition, most brushless motors include a plurality of permanent magnets attached to a rotor.
Brushless motors typically have a different number of stator poles versus rotor poles. For example, a majority of brushless motor manufacturers use a three phase drive circuit including three rotation sensors and six transistors to switch the direct current. Current flows through two of the three coils or phases at any one time. Therefore, a three phase motor with three coils only utilizes approximately two-thirds of the copper windings at one time. Such a configuration can provide a smooth drive and good starting torque, but is complicated in terms of the number of components and the expense of the components. Other similarly designed motors including different pairings of stator poles versus rotor poles (e.g., 6-8, 12-8,4-6, 6-2) are also complex and expensive.
In particular, the circuitry used to drive a brushless motor can be complex and expensive. For example, some drive circuits for brushless motors require a voltage boost, or discrete isolated voltage sources. This can be accomplished, for example, using a transformer. However, transformers are both bulky and expensive. Voltage doublers can also be used, but they typically require large and expensive capacitors to generate the needed voltages with sufficient current capability. Other circuitry, such as charge pumps with a dedicated oscillator, diodes, and capacitors, has also been used.
One application in which the above-described voltage boost circuits have been used is in drive circuits for brushless motors including a main semi-conductor switch (e.g., mosfets, transistors, SCRs, Triacs, etc.) that “is above the load.” This is generally the case in a drive circuit in which a fill-bridge or half-bridge is used to drive the motor. Although the drive circuits noted above may be used in a drive circuit for a brushless motor with main switches that are above the load, such circuits can be inefficient, complex, and cost-prohibitive.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a brushless motor that is efficient and can be manufactured in a cost-effective manner.